Manufacture of hoes



Dec. 21 1926.

J. S. PORTER MANUFACTURE OF HOES Patented Dec. 21, 1926.

1,611,369 uuirro stares r'rsnr orris.

JOSEPH S. PORTER, OF PORTLAND, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOB T 1). is: 1-11. SCOVIL, INC 01? HIGGANUM, CONNECTICUT, A CORPQEATEON OF CONNECTICUT.

MANUFACTURE O1 I-IOES.

Application filed June 4,

This invention relates to the manufacture of hoes used by gardeners, farmers, planters and the like agriculturists.

The object of the invention is to produce a hoe for such persons which can be rapidly made, is very cheap to manufacture and is strong and durable in use.

This end is attained by the provision of a process whereby an integral working blade. handle eye and strengthening throat connecting the blade and eye may be drawn to shape from sheet metal, which eye may or may not be reinforced.

'In the accompanying; drawings Fig. 1, shows a sheet metal blank from which the article is produced, at one stage of the drawing operations. Fig. 2 is a section of the blank shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows the blank at another stage of the drawing. Fig, l is a section of the blank shown in Fig. 3. l 5 shows the blank at another stage. Fig. (3 is a section of the piece shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 shows a back view of the completed hoe with the eye reinforced. Fig. 8 is a section of the completed hoe.

In producing a hoe embodyingthis inven-' tion a flat sheet or strip of metal 1 of the desired thickness and necessary size is passed through a punch press and by suitable punch and die a depression 2 is formed therein, Figs. 1 and 2. The metal of the blank from which the hoe is drawn may be homogeneous, as steel of uniform quality and density, or it may be laminated, as soft steel and hard steel rolled so as to be practically homogeneous. If laminated the drawing operations are so performed on the blank that the hard metal will come on the face and the soft metal on the back of the hoe, and thus will produce a so-called self-sharpening hoe.

The drawing operations which may be performed by punches and dies of any suitable shape, and which are usually performed with the metal hot, are repeated as many times as is necessary. The punches and dies are of such shape that at each step the depth of the depression is increased and the diameter reduced, until the depth is sufficient to form an eye of the required length and the diameter is substantially the size of the handle to be fitted in the eye. After the depression is started the punches and dies are shaped to produce an extension 3 from the depression toward the blade, which ex- 1924. Serial No. 717,726.

pression and extension are in approximately.

final shape, a perforation-6 is made through the bottom of the drawn section. This perforation is desirably of suflicient size to leave a. small inwardly extending flange '7 at the bottom of the eye socket, Fig. 6.

The punches and dies employed to draw the eye and throat are soarranged that theydraw the eye socket at a slightly oblique angle with relation to the plane of the sheet which is to form the blade. N hen the eye is drawn to substantially final size the sheeis trimmed to give the blade its shape. WV hen this trimming is done it is preferred to leave a small outwardly extending flange 9 around a portion of the eye, Figs. 5 and 6. With the hoe in this condition in order to fill out the eye and close it on the side of the throat a bushing 10 may be shrunk into the eye. After the bushing is inserted the outwardly extending flange is bent over the edge of the bushing so that the latter will be held between the two flanges at the ends of the eye, Figs. 7 and 8.

By practicing this process a hoe may be produced from a flat sheet of unitary or composite metal of uniform thickness with the Working blade, handle eye and throat which joins the blade and eye and strengtl'iens the structure, integral. If desired the bushing may be omitted but it is preferred to employ it for the purpose of filling in the open side of the throat and completing the eye as well as strengthening the eye.

The blank used is preferably a sheet of sufficient size to produce a single hoe, but with this method a strip of sheet metal of substantially the width of the blade desired may be passed through a drawing press and several depressions formed in it at suitable intervals. The strip may be then successively passed through the same press or another press provided with the required tools for performing the subsequent operations, that is, the strip may be subjected to a plurality of each of the drawing steps at each (ill pass before being subjected to the next stage pressing;- a c rcular section of a sheet of metal of uniform thickness, subsequently drawing the depressed section obliquely with relation to the sheet and increasing its depth and decreasing its diameter until an eye is produced, forming an extension in the sheet from said depressed section while the eye is being formed and producing a hollow throat thereby, trimming the sheet to shape the blade and eye, and finally securing a bushing in the eye to complete the eye and close communication between the eye and throat.

JOSEPH S. PORTER. 

